If you were driving down the 91 Freeway the week of February 5 through 9, you would have seen a billboard expressing appreciation for CUSD's school counselors. This group of individuals work quietly behind the scenes to make sure students are set up for success after high school.

We celebrated National School Counselors week and our amazing school counselors with an appreciation luncheon hosted by the district and a proclamation on behalf of the Board of Trustees recognizing their valuable contributions. The luncheon was attended by Superintendent Dr. Brawley and Board of Trustees Member Mae Thomas and Legislative Representative Margie Garrett (all three pictured below with CUSD school counselors).

Our school counselors work tirelessly to make sure middle and high school students are supported on the road to graduation, college and career.

The work and commitment of school counselors can be seen in the dramatic improvements at CUSD. Such improvements include increased graduation and college application rates, decreased dropout rates, and more students successfully completing the steps they need to take to get into college.

"Our Counselors play a crucial role in helping students navigate their way through the social, academic and college/career obstacles they face on an everyday basis,” said Jorge Torres, Senior Director College and Career Readiness, “The goal is to ultimately ensure that our students become productive members of society."

One such way is through the 10,000 FAFSA Challenge, which is ongoing and will end March 2. In the FAFSA challenge, schools compete to encourage as many of their seniors as possible to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Completing the FAFSA is an important first step for students who wish to receive some kind of assistance in paying for college. In addition, studies show that students who complete the FAFSA have a greater chance of going to college.

The district’s efforts to promote and support students attending college is seeing much success:

• 14% Increase in College Admission
• 30% Increase in number of students who intend to enroll in a four-year university
• 1000 students enrolled in advanced placement courses
• Almost 200 students attending college courses while attending high school

“Much is being done to not only foster a college-going culture here at Compton Unified School District, but also to enable it,” says CUSD Superintendent Dr. Darin Brawley. “Our high school counselors are an important part of this commitment, and we appreciate them for it--all year long!”